If you like my work and want to support the channel, consider subscribing to my Patreon for more, exclusive content! patreon.com/GermanWWIIArchive Or buy me a Kaffee here: www.buymeacoffee.com/germanwwiiarchive Remarks: 00:25 The large banner at the front of the funeral procession has Yamamotos name, his final rank (Marshall) and his most important medals and orders written on it, you can find a clearer image of the banner here: auctions.afimg.jp/s1056300425/ya/image/s1056300425.1.jpg 00:30 Yamamoto was posthumously promoted to Marshal, (Gensui), on April 18th, 1943. It should be noted that unlike in western armies, the title of Marshal in the Japanese Empire was largely honorific and had little to do with actual command power. During WWII, only six Japanese officers- three Army Generals (Terauchi, Sugiyama and Hata) and three Admirals(Yamamoto, Nagano and Koga) were given that rank, two of them (Yamamoto and Koga) posthumously. 00:32 The officer in front carries Yamamoto’s sword, the officers behind him carry his medals on cushions, as it is common during funerals of soldiers. 00:34 Yamamoto was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chysanthemum, Japans highest order, posthumously on April 18th, 1943. 00:55 The Suikosha was a friendship and research organization for the Japanese Navy, founded in March 1876. It was an official organization with the President being a Japanese Prince Navy General, and the Director being the Minister of Navy. It operated facilities open exclusive for naval and higher civilian officers and provided help and financial support for navy officers. The organization was abolished with the end of the war, but a similar organization, called the Suikosha Foundation, was created in 1952 and is still active as a support organization for former and active Japanese Navy officers. 01:01 The song “Lay Down your Life”, in Japanese: 命を捨てて (Inochi wo sutete) is a traditional Japanese military funeral march. You can find a modern rendition by a Japanese Army Band here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rTly0_KJVPI.html 01:06 I believe this torn and shredded Japanese war flag was recovered from the crashed plane Yamamoto was in, but I’m not 100% sure. 03:03 Koichi Shiozawa (1881-1943) was a Japanese Admiral during the first half of the 20th century. He joined the Japanese Navy in 1904, ranking 2nd out of 192 cadets in his class. He served as an officer on various ships, including cruisers and battleships, from 1905 to 1909. During WWI, he was a naval observer to the UK from 1917 to 1919, and served on the British HMS Resolution and HMS Royal Oak. Various other staff positions followed, including commander of the 5th fleet from February 1938 to January 1939, commanding the ships during the Second Sino-Japanese war. He was promoted to full admiral in November 1939, and had his last command, chief of the Yokosuka Naval District, from September 1940 to September 1941. He was a lifelong friend of Admiral Yamamoto and presided over his funeral; Shiozawa himself died a few months later in November 1943 at age 62 of an acute pancreas aliment. 03:24 Prince Saneatsu Tokudaiji (1889-1970) was a Japanese nobleman. He became chamberlain to the Emperor in 1932, and a member of the House of Peers in March 1937. Additionally, he served as a Lieutenant colonel of the Cavalry troops during WWII, although he never held a frontline command. He resigned from the House of Peers in May 1946 and became chief priest of the Heian Shrine in November 1960, until he retired in September 1968, dying two years later. 03:42 There is a small section of footage missing here, probably due to damage to the original film rolls. 03:44 Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu (1875-1946) was a Japanese Naval Admiral and head of the Fushimi-no-miya family, one of four branches of the Japanese imperial family. He served in the Russo Japanese War, became a member of the supreme war council from 1920 onwards and was a strong supporter of a stronger Japanese Navy. He was promoted to Marshal in May 1932, and served as the chief of the Japanese Navy General Staff from February 1932 to April 1941, his last military assignment. He died shortly after the end of the war in August 1946. 03:55 Yoshimasa Yamamoto (1922-2014) was the oldest son of Yamamoto. He wanted to enroll in the Naval Academy, but due to medical complications, he studied agriculture at the Tokyo Imperial Academy. He later volunteered to become a Navy pilot but was again declined due to his bad eyesight. After the war, he studied engineering and worked at a paper mill in Nagaoka; he was also the honorary president of the Yamamoto Museum. He died of pneumonia in June 2014. 04:28 Hideki Tojo (1884-1948) was a Japanese General and Politician who served as the 40th Prime Minister of Japan from October 1941 to July 1944. He joined the Japanese Military as an Officer in 1905, serving in various staff positions and quickly developing an interest in politics. After becoming Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army in 1935 and leading it in the first stages in the Sino-Japanese war, he returned to Japan in May 1938, he became Vice Army Minister, and finally in July 1940 Army Minister. He quickly became one of the most influential Japanese politicians and was an advocate of an alliance with Germany and Italy. After Prime Minister Konoe failed to reach a diplomatic solution with the USA, he resigned, and Emperor Hirohito made Tojo the new Prime Minister. Tojo was ultimately responsible for escalation the strained relations with the USA to a war, beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor. HWhen the war situation turned against Japan, more and more influential politicians demanded his resignation, and he was finally forced to resign in July 1944. After Japan’s surrender in 1945, Tojo was arrested by the Americans and tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, found guilty of war crimes and waging a war of aggression and ordering mistreatment of prisoners and civilians, and was hanged on December 23rd, 1948. 04:50 This is Yamamotos grave at the Tokyo National Cemetery in Tama. It is still there today. 04:58 Heihachiro Togo (1848-1934) was a Japanese Marshal of the Imperial Japanese Navy, serving between 1863 and 1913. As commander of the Combined fleet during the Russo-Japanese War, he managed to successfully pin down the Russian fleet at Porth Arthus in February 1904, before achieving a stunning victory in the Battle of Tsushima, where the Japanese sunk 21 Russian ships, including 6 battleships, totaling 135,893 tons and captured 5 more, while losing only 3 torpedo boats. These successes made him a national hero in Japan and respected abroad, with British press calling him the “Nelson of the East”. He died on May 30th, 1934, and his state funeral was held on June 5th, 1934, the same day as Yamamoto 9 years later.
Killed by P-38 fire after intercepted messages of his arrival and route was decrypted. 16 P-38 attacked, only 1 was lost attacked by Janagiya, two Micubishi bombers were shot down.
